Break the fast!

It is said that breakfast actually mean break the fast or breaking the fast because the gap between dinner which is supposedly the last meal of the day and breakfast being the first – in a perfect world is the longest, compared to the other meals of the day. To the point that we are in effect fasting while we are sleeping ha ha ha ha ha. But then, we all have different lifestyles and schedules and more often than not- we adapt our eating habits to both and vice versa. Even as health-wise, we should have breakfast packed with all the vitamins and nutrients we need to start a busy day with, we just don’t have the time to prepare one, or even eat one. Whatever floats our boat so to speak! I am speaking from experience and these are the breakfasts I’ve had and prepared recently for myself and others and will be preparing again for sure in the future.


Blueberry Pancakes
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups wheat or all-purpose flour
2 ¼ tsp baking powder
3 tbsp sugar
¾ tsp salt
1 cup milk
3 tbsp butter, melted
1 cup fresh/frozen blueberries
Directions:
Separate eggs
Sift together flour, baking powder and salt
Mix together egg yolks, milk and butter then add to the dry ingredients
Fold the egg whites and the blueberries
Cook in a greased griddle and serve with honey butter or butter and dust with confectioner’s sugar


Banana-Triple Berry Yogurt Parfait
It is a simple layer of vanilla yogurt and sliced bananas topped with a generous sprinkle of triple-berry granola. Any yogurt flavor will do and bananas can be substituted with any fruit in season. The same goes with the granola sprinkles.


Blueberry-Ricotta Cheese Crepes
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
½ cup reduced fat milk
½ cup water
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons melted butter

Filling:
1 ½ cup ricotta cheese
¾ cup confectioner’s sugar
I cup fresh blueberries
Put the ricotta cheese and confectioner’s sugar in a blender and whip till smooth and creamy, transfer into a bowl; fold the blueberries and set aside

Directions:
Whisk the flour and the eggs together in a large mixing bowl. Slowly stir in the milk and the water. Add the salt and butter, and beat the mixture until smooth. of batter onto the pan for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.
Cook each side until golden brown brown- two minutes for one side and one for the other – batter will be bubbly as it cooks
Gently remove and place on a plate. Place waxed paper between cooked crepes to prevent sticking.
Spread each crepe with the blueberry-ricotta cheese mix in the middle then fold the two sides overlapping and transfer to a serving plate. Top with more blueberries and dust with confectioner’s sugar


Banana-Nutella Sandwich
You will need:
2 pieces of wheat bread, lightly toasted
1/2 banana, sliced
Nutella Hazelnut Spread

Directions:
Spread Nutella generously on one piece of bread.
Top with sliced bananas.
Put the other slice of toast on top then slice into triangles and serve



Ham & Egg Fried Rice
Ingredients
2 cups steamed white rice
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 extra large egg, slightly beaten
1/3 cup chopped ham
2 tbsp canola or vegetable oil

Directions:
Heat oil in a non-stick skillet
Saute the garlic till fragrant but not burnt
Pour the slightly beaten egg
Season with salt, to taste
Add the cubed ham and just shake the skillet so everything is mixed together
Add the steamed white rice and taste
Continue mixing all the ingredients together in a folding fashion
Serve with coffee or hot chocolate


French Toasts

Ingredients:
2 eggs
½ cup vanilla yogurt
4 slices of bread
4 tbsp unsalted butter

Directions:
Beat the eggs in a bowl
Add the yogurt and mix well
Dip each slice of bread quickly and make sure both sides are well coated but not too long or the bread will be soggy. heat and cook both sides till golden brown
Serve with fruits like sliced bananas or strawberries and honey butter or dust with confectioner’s sugar


Champurado


Champurado or chocolate porridge is made from sweet rice cooked with chocolate and sugar then served with milk and fried dried fish or meat. It is a favorite breakfast in our household and later on- we just make it whenever we crave for it- whether it’s for breakfast or for snack. I have made a lot of changes and improvement in my champorado the way I’ve made changes in almost all the stuff I’ve learned in the kitchen. The secret is in the mixture of all the ingredients and of course the way it is prepared.

Ingredients:
2 cups sweet rice
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, add more if you want more chocolatey flavor
2 cups brown sugar or to taste
2 tbsp instant coffee granules ( I always use Hazelnut flavor)
1 stick of unsalted butter or margarine

Directions:
Put water in a deep non-stick sauce or stock pot.
Mix cocoa powder and brown sugar, set aside
Bring to a boil then add the sweet rice (be sure to wash it before cooking)
Start stirring when it starts to simmer- it makes the champurado more delicious
Add the coffee granules and the butter
Continue stirring for about 20 minutes- the rice should be a little softer than al-dente if you compare it to pasta- just a little because it will continue to cook even as you have turned off the heat so it is advisable to remove the pot from the stove when done. Rice expands or swells fast because it absorbs moisture so be sure to have enough water- but, that should be before cocoa powder-brown sugar mixture is added.
Serve with whole milk or evaporated milk and fried beef or dried fish



Breakfast Burritos

Ingredients:
Scrambled eggs
chopped ham
shredded cheese
Chopped onions
Salsa
Chopped peppers (optional)

Directions:
Combine together. Roll into warmed flour tortilla. (I just warm them on a non-stick pan)
Garnish with a sprig of cilantro
Serve with salsa



Foodie’s Waffles
Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 egg yolks
1 ¾ cups milk
½ cup canola oil
2 egg whites

Procedure:
1. In a medium mixing bowl sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Whisk thoroughly so they’re all mixed together. Make a well in the center.
2. In another bowl beat egg yolks slightly. Stir in milk and oil.
3. Add egg yolk mixture all at once to the dry mixture. Stir just till moistened (should be lumpy).
4. In a small bowl beat egg whites until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight up).
5. Gently fold egg whites into flour and egg yolk mixture, leaving a few fluffs of egg white, do not overmix.
6. Spoon waffle batter into your waffle iron, making sure not to overfill it.
7. Serve with honey butter, confectioner’s sugar and your favorite fruit

To make honey butter:
Mix two tablespoons honey to a stick of unsalted butter- room temp
Note : if you want banana waffles- add 1 tsp banana extract to your batter. Add it to your yolk mixture before adding to the dry ingredients. For presentation, top your waffles with sliced bananas with the rest of your toppings.


Under the weather breakfast

This is my humble breakfast when I got sick because of that flu shot that was given to me at work. This is not just plain cup-o-noodles. I will never eat cup noodles done with just “warm water”. Water should be boiling and I usually add an egg if there are no veggies and season it with ground pepper or hot sauce with a squirt of lemon. At the background is my nuked burro banana lol...



Quiche Lorraine
Ingredients:
12 slices bacon
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/3 cup minced onion
5 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 cup 1% fat milk
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white sugar
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
5 oz frozen spinach, microwave (2.5 min) and drain

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
Place bacon in a large skillet, and fry over medium-high heat until crisp. There’s no need to put oil- just allow the bacon fat to render. Drain on paper towels, chop coarsely.
Sprinkle bacon, cheese and onion into pastry shell.
Layer spinach on top
In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, cream, salt, sugar and cayenne pepper.
Pour mixture into pastry shell.
Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce heat to 300 degrees and bake an additional 30 minutes, or until a knife inserted 1 inch from edge comes out clean. Allow quiche to sit 10 minutes before cutting into wedges.



Crunchy Peanut Butter & Apple Sandwich
Ingredients:
2 slices wheat bread
creamy peanut butter
Fuji or Gala apple slices
Chopped walnuts

Directions:
Lightly toast the bread
Generously spread a slice with the peanut butter
Arrange the apple slices on top
Sprinkle with chopped walnuts
Put the other slice on top and slice horizontally or into triangles
Crunchy peanut butter may be used and just omit the chopped walnuts


Strawberry-Nutella Sandwich

This has become my favorite especially when strawberries are in season. Lightly toasted wheat bread with a generous spread of Nutella then topped with sliced strawberries.



Oatmeal and Blackberries
Oatmeal is a must-have whether at home or at work. It is so easy to prepare but with a lot of health benefits. Now-a-days, we see a lot of people eating more oatmeal because it lowers down cholesterol, it is good for the heart and it is rich in fiber and anti-oxidants. I love oatmeal especially with berries, brown sugar and milk. It's funny how I took it upon myself to teach my co-workers how to prepare oatmeal using the microwave.
Here's my recipe for a delicious cup of oatmeal

Using a microwave-friendly mug:
Add 3 tbsp of quick oats
Add hot water (from the coffee machine)
Mug should be half-full
Microwave for 28 seconds- could be less
so you have to keep an eye on it lest the
oatmeal overflows.
Add berries in season, a tbp of brown sugar or a sachet of Splenda or Equal
Add fat-free milk
Enjoy!


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